The Shalom Hartman Institute’s “Muslim Leadership Initiative” (MLI) has been submerged in controversy since it was launched in 2013. The program “invites North American Muslims to explore how Jews understand Judaism, Israel, and Jewish peoplehood” and include a visit to Palestine. Defenders of MLI and programs like it argue first, that the program gives participants…

Palestinian American activist Mariam Saleh traveled to Standing Rock Sioux reservation to document the on-going protests. Activists have spent months protesting plans to route the $3.8 billion Dakota Access Pipeline beneath a lake near the reservation, saying the project poses a threat to water resources and sacred Native American sites, according to Reuters.

Over a homemade plate of babaghanoosh (smoked eggplant dip), your father asks you if you know just how much your jiddo—his father—loved batanjan (eggplant). You tear a piece of pita, dip and take a bite. You shake your head no. “It was 1982,” your father says. “The Israelis were occupying lubnan then, trying to get…

This article was originally published in Palestine in America’s second annual print issue. Buy a copy here A few days after the Israeli occupation of Gaza, we heard loudspeakers mounted on the cars announcing the lifting of the curfew for two hours: from 2 to 4 p.m. The sound of the war was still in my ears—the…

Growing up, my parents always made sure my seven siblings and I annually traveled to Palestine, in hopes that we would never forget our heritage and roots. I’d drink my grandmother’s shay (tea) outside, just as the sun began to rise over Ramallah, and spend days at Jaffa beach with cousins and lifelong friends. Despite…